Even though Bryan High has been a closed campus for over fifteen years, many students don’t know why they are not allowed to leave campus for lunch.

For the administration, safety is one of the main priorities in maintaining a closed campus.

“Kids were always waiting to the last minute to get to lunch and rushing, trying to get back on campus; it was causing accidents,” director of campus monitors Lester Banks said. “We don’t want to take the chance of anyone getting killed.”

Another priority in restricting off campus lunch has to do with the students on free and reduced lunch.

“A majority of the students on this campus are on free or reduced lunch, and it’s really not fair for everybody to be able to come and go and them not be able to,” assistant principal Randy Caperton said.

With a strict bell schedule, many administrators are concerned with students going off campus for lunch.

“Thirty minutes is just impossible to drive off campus, go get food, drive back, eat and get to class on time and the schedule really binds us,” principal Diane Werner said.

Students that are caught eating off campus face a punishment of three days in SAC or in-school-suspension.

If the policy were to be changed, administrators have said that it must be brought before the school board.

“Students are not taking care of their responsibilities, and I feel like if students showed some effort in the classroom and took care of their responsibilities, we might consider going to the board saying ‘hey, this is what our students have accomplished, let’s give them a chance’,” Banks said.